


Re:Hunter x Hunter

by mywritingsucks



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Betrayal, Canon-Typical Violence, Curses, Dark Past, Drama, Friendship, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Mind Control, Minor Character Death, Nen (Hunter X Hunter), Retelling, Sadism, Suggestive Themes, hisoka should be a tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-09-01 07:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8615893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mywritingsucks/pseuds/mywritingsucks
Summary: A retelling of the manga/anime Hunter x Hunter. The main character is a girl who wishes to become a Hunter so she can have adventures. Pretty simple dream. Only she's also the victim of a curse that doesn't allow for her to have strong connections with people at the risk of something terrible happening to them. How long can she keep people away?





	1. Before x the x Exam

The elevator ride down was much too long for Ashei's liking. She couldn't stop herself from roaming around the small square room in complete silence as she tried to calm her nerves. This was her second attempt at the Hunter Exam and while that fact should be a comfort to the 20 year old, it only made her feel worse. She had first entered the exam when she was 18 and failed in the second phase for failing to beat her opponent in a fistfight. She had trained the whole of last year, skipping out on the exam for the year, all so she could get just a bit stronger and hopefully not fail this year. She wasn't sure she could take another failure.

            Sighing, she leaned on the circular table in the center of the room and reached for her bag she had set on the table when she first entered the room. Surely, she must be close to the bottom of wherever the hell this elevator was taking her. After throwing her well-loved pale green bag over her shoulder, the elevator stopped moving much to her relief. Ashei took a deep breath as she turned to face the doors as they opened.

            She stepped out of the elevator and waited for the doors to shut behind her before walking farther into the large, grey basement-like room. She noticed at once the mass of about 40 people standing in the center of the room, some in groups or pairs and some just lazing about. Before she could find herself a corner to hide in, the same strange little green man from her previous attempt stood in her path. He simply handed her a white circular badge with _#45_ on it without speaking a word to her. He had a grin on his oddly shaped head, however.

            Ashei watched as the man returned to his place next to the elevator (she had seemingly passed by him unknowingly) and secured her badge to her shirt on the left side under her light jacket. It could still be seen, but should she have to hide it it would be as simple as zipping her jacket up.

            Eventually, Ashei made her way to the far side of the side and leaned on the hard stone wall. She slid to the ground to a sitting position and hugged her knees to her chest as if she just could not made herself small enough as to not be noticed. This worked for a while. She was able to see more applicants enter the room and she could try to size up her competition. She soon felt an odd sensation coming from all around her, like she was being watched.

            At first, she figured she must have imagined it or she had simply been ignoring the feeling before. After all, she was in a room with many other people and that feeling of people's eyes on her was bound to happen. However, she soon realized that it was not many pairs of eyes she felt...just the one. There was someone that was very clearly keeping an eye on her and the very thought of it was enough to make her try to curl into an even smaller ball.

            She forced herself to look up as she heard the sound of light footsteps heading her way. The owner of the footsteps was a man that walked with a certain flair, his hips swaying ever so slightly and pure confidence radiating with every _click-click_ of his heels. He wore mostly white, with some yellow cloth wrapped around his waist, and suit symbols on either side of his chest. It was hard not to notice the _#44_ badge that lay on his chest as well. As she tilted her head to look up at his face, she saw how pale white his skin seemed and the fuchsia-pink color of his hair. This was the person watching her without a doubt.

            He was soon directly in front of her and she decided to look at his dark purple shoes instead of his face. She was subtly trying to tell him that she really did not want to start anything. At her look away, the man gave a light chuckle before squatting so he was eye level with her.

            "Wh-what do you want?" Ashei stuttered slightly at his sudden movement. She forced herself to look him in the eyes, her attempt at trying to appear strong after her words had failed her. She was surprised to find that his eyes were yellow - most likely contacts, she guessed. At the last moment before he spoke, she noticed a pink star painted on his cheek and a blue teardrop on the other side. Could he be a clown or magician?

            "You shouldn't be here. I can tell," he said in a soothing voice with a little smile to go with it. The smile seemed false, blank even. As if it were a force of habit he had gotten used to doing when talking with people. She hated the sight of it.

            "The _hell_ are you to say that?" She had to stop herself from yelling and her words ended up coming out as if she wanted to take them back. And while at first she did not, the change in the man's demeanor definitely made her want to.

            Although not frowning, he dropped the smile and stared with an almost blank expression. She suddenly felt a murderous intent coming from the man and it was directed right at her. She felt completely frozen. All she could do was stare into a yellow abyss until, after what seemed like forever, the terrible feeling vanished.

            "You're not ready for this exam, yet," he said in an annoyingly teacher-like voice. "I sense that you have potential, but you're still not strong enough." At the last word his smile returned and he stood back up. It was nearly impossible to not watch him as he stood. She found herself unable to break eye contact. He looked down at her and took a step back before turning around and walking away. He raised his hand a little, the gesture supposedly a wave to her as he disappeared back into the crowd.

            She stared down at the spot where he had been and wondered what the hell that was about. She silently cursed at herself for possibly making an enemy before the exam even started. She uncurled herself and leaned back on the wall. She sighed in defeat as a certain group finally arrived to the exam site.

**\--**

The green clad boy followed his two new friends out of the elevator with wide amber eyes as he took in the amount of people that had gathered. From the looks of them, they were all very capable and could easily best the 12 year old in a fight. Despite knowing this, the boy could barely keep the grin from spreading across his face.

            He and his two friends received their number badges fairly quick and the trio took a moment to fully take in their surroundings as they floated just outside the large group of applicants.

            "I wonder how many people are here?" the boy wondered aloud as he tried to count them in his head. After reaching 20, he gave up. There was too many to count.

            "You're the four hundredth-fifth," sounded a voice behind him. The boy and his friends turned around to see this new person. "Name's Tonpa," he introduced with a snide smile. The short, chubby man was clearly not the prettiest person in the room. He wore blue clothing, and had a badge stating he was _#16_ pinned to his chest.

            "I'm Gon!" the boy said as she shook the man's extended hand. "These are my friends Leorio and Kurapika!" He pointed to them respectively.

            "I gather you're new," Tonpa said with an unpleasant little chuckle.

            "You can tell?" Gon asked, surprised by his correct guess. Was it that easy to tell a first timer apart from the rest? Did he say something only a newbie would say?

            "Pretty much!" Tonpa laughed, "This is my thirty-fifth attempt." He said this with such pride that it was hard to understand. Why be proud of failure?

            Before he could even wonder if his words would come out as rude, Gon exclaimed, " _Thirty-fifth!?_ " Now he understood how this man could tell he was new. They would have met in a previous exam for sure.

            "Yep. You might say I'm an expert examinee! Anything you want to know, just ask," he said with a hearty laugh. Gon thought he seemed nice, almost the exact opposite of what his friends behind him were thinking.

            "So, you know everyone here, then?" Gon asked eagerly. He thought it might be beneficial to know the other examinees' names and maybe even their fighting styles.

            "Just about! I'll point out the regulars...let's see..." Tonpa then looked over his shoulder and started to point out select examinees. He told them their names and a few odd little things he had learned about them. He eventually got to a girl sitting on a wall a few feet away from them and almost hesitated.

            "That girl over there, _#45_ , is named Ashei. This is her second attempt at the Hunter Exam. She was actually in the one two years ago having skipped last year's. I'll be honest, I don't know much about her."

            It was then that a scream of surprise and pain echoed throughout the room.


	2. At x The x Starting x Line

Ashei instantly stood up at the cry of a man in pain and looked for the source amongst the crowd. She found that the examinees had formed a large circle and were surrounding two men. She swallowed hard when she realized that she recognized the man not freaking out on the floor. The one that _was_ on the ground had both his arms, or what was left of them, extended out in front of him and a look of bewilderment was apparent on his face. His arms had been cut off with a certain perfection. It was a clean cut. Too clean.

            The man she did know had been speaking while she assessed the situation. She took a few steps towards the commotion for a better look. She couldn’t recall what he had said, but his next words certainly reached her ears.

            “You should be more _careful_ ,” he warned in that same soothing voice. “At least apologize when you bump into someone.” His smirk was full of a strange happy-yet-basically-insane kind of feel. At least, that’s what Ashei could feel as she watched him walk away gleefully from the armless man.

            Her unspoken thoughts were confirmed. That man was clearly dangerous and she was now most likely on his list. As she slumped back against the wall, she let out a sigh of defeat. This year’s exam was going to be tougher than her previous one.

            “Hmph… _he’s_ back. Too bad,” the short man next to a boy and two others said in a dissatisfied tone. Ashei turned her head slightly so she could listen in on their conversation. She hadn’t realized they were so close before. She had already heard the man blabber on about the other examinees, herself included.

            “ _#44_ – Hisoka, the magician.” He nearly shuddered as he looked back down at the boy in green. “He seemed like a shoo-in last year, but then he attacked an examiner he didn’t…um, _approve_ of, and was disqualified.” That tidbit of information would have been nice to know before she had done something to piss him off, she thought sulking.

            “And they didn’t tell him to take a hike for good!?” The taller boy of the group exclaimed in disbelief. His glasses threatened to fall off with the force of which he had been taken aback.

            “Of course not. We get new examiners each year,” he replied calmly. “They decide what the tests are, and who gets to take ‘em.” He turned to speak directly at him, “The Devil himself can pass the Hunter Exam…if an examiner says it’s okay.” He jutted a thumb over his shoulder in the direction the magician had gone in. “Hisoka took out _20 examinees_ last year, a score I’m sure he wouldn’t mind improving on.” His expression changed to a deadly serious one, “Steer clear of him, if you can.”

            The last warning made Ashei slam a fist into the wall, causing a small crack to appear. The sound was louder than she thought it would be. This caused the four to turn and give her a strange look. Embarrassed, she quickly decided to join them so she would not seem like she had been eavesdropping on purpose. Perhaps they would believe she had wanted to join in all along.

            “You sure know a lot about the people gathered here,” Ashei started as she stopped before them. “How come I didn’t see you two years ago?” The question popped out without her really wanting it to. Although in truth, she was actually very curious about it. Surely, he had been there, having taken the exam 34 times before.

            He seemed hesitant and flustered as he struggled to come up with an excuse. She had no way of knowing of course, that he had indeed seen her in the last exam but had avoided her because she scared him. “Oh, well, you see…that year I only made it to the first phase! Heheh…” His expression and way of speaking told Ashei he was lying. She decided it was better not to push him any farther.

            “I see,” Ashei sighed. As she got a closer look at him, she could feel memories trying to come back to her. It was as if she had seen him in the edges of her vision before, hanging out with rookies like he was this year. Had she seen him her first year? The question weighed against her. She was sure she had not, but something in the back of her mind told her she had. It was very conflicting.

            “Hey, your name’s Ashei, isn’t it?” The tall one asked, pulling her away from her thoughts. She slowly nodded her head. “I’m Leorio. Future Hunter and _doctor_.” He gave her a smile that made her slightly uncomfortable. She realized this was an awkward and poor attempt at flirting with her.

            “Pretty confident guy, aren’t you?” Ashei smiled sweetly – one of her best fake smiles. She guessed he was around her age, maybe older. He was certainly older than the blond guy standing a little off to the side. And he was without a doubt older than the little kid that kept looking back and forth between Ashei and Leorio with an interested expression. “Anyway, sorry for…interrupting your little chat here. I’ll be on my way.” She took a step back and turned around sharply, deciding to head back to that one certain spot on the wall to wait for the exam to begin.

            “Hey, wait!” The kid’s voice (Gon was his name, if she recalled correctly) stopped her in her tracks and she looked over her shoulder at him. “Why don’t you hang out with us? You don’t have to be alone,” he beamed up at her. His words had surprised her. How could he be so trusting of a stranger? He knew nothing about her or what she had done and yet he was inviting her into their group? She turned around slightly so she could see the others’ reactions to his invitation. The blond boy dressed in blue looked almost as surprised as she was, his brown eyes focused on her as if he was trying to determine if she was to be trusted. Leorio had a welcoming smile on his face and gave her a lame thumbs up. The chubby one was looking away, clearly uninterested. He sighed and walked away – the others did not seem to notice.

            She looked down, closed her eyes and chuckled softly to herself. She had come here with just one goal: pass the exam and become a Hunter. Making friends was not a part of her plans. Yet as she looked back into the amber eyes of the young boy, she could not help but want to be near his infectious happiness. He was the kind of kid that pulled someone in and never let go, she could tell. She never thought someone like him would ever want to be near someone like her.

            “All right.” She smiled lightly as she rejoined them. “You’re a convincing little dude, you know that?” She looked down at him, “Gon, right? It’s nice to make your acquaintance. “

            “Heh. Oh! This is Kurapika! He’s the one that hasn’t said anything.” Gon pointed behind him at the blond who now looked a bit embarrassed. “We all came here together,” he informed her.

            She nodded politely at Kurapika, “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

            “The same to you.” He bowed slightly and just stared at her until she forced herself to return her gaze to Gon.

            “Can I ask why you want to be a Hunter?” Gon asked, his eyes filled with childish curiosity.

            She bit back a sarcastic remark, not wanting to be rude to the kid. “In truth, I just want an adventure,” she told him. Her mind filled with memories of the Hunter that had saved her life back on her little island. She wanted to find him again, if possible, and have adventures like the ones he had told her about.

            Before Gon could respond, an annoying _brrrrrrrr_ cut through the air. Ashei looked over to the gate that was now opening and realized the sound was an alarm. The tall, lanky man holding the alarm waited until the gate was fully open before speaking.

            “As of now, registration is closed,” the light purple haired man announced. He wore a black suit that only seemed to make him look thinner than he was. Honestly, Ashei couldn’t _not_ noticed the fact that he seemed to lack a mouth and when he spoke his black mustache moved instead. It was peculiar. “The Hunter Exam will now begin. Everyone ready? Good.”

            He moved the front of the pack and gestured to the long tunnel ahead of him. “This way, please.” He started walking (if she could call it that, the way he walked was not normal) and continued to talk, not bothering to look behind him to check if people were following. As the people in front of her started walking, so did Ashei and co.

            “Just so there’s no mistake,” he started, “the Hunter Exam is very rigorous. If you lack the necessary ability – too bad. If you’re unlucky – again, too bad.” Ashei didn’t remember being lectured at the beginning, she thought glumly. “And the examinees are not above sabotaging each other, as you saw. If you’re fine with that then you’re welcome to continue.”


	3. Run x Run x Run

As Ashei walked she tried to think of what kind of test this was going to be. Endurance was the mostly likely answer at this point. In her first attempt, the first phase had been a sort of mind game; the examiner had locked them all in a room for 7 days and watched as some went insane. The food came on the 3rd and 6th days, but by the 6th day there was only about 60 people left of the 324 that had entered the room. They had all either been killed or killed themselves. Ashei herself found their reactions rather amusing.

            “Still with me? Good. You 404 applicants are now in the first phase,” the examiner informed them after they had walked for about a minute. Ashei had hoped a few would get scared and drop out. No such luck.

            “Apart from the armless guy, that’s everyone,” Leorio stated from beside her. She had forgotten that Gon and his friends were right beside her. She only just now noticed the _#403, #404,_ and _#405_ on Leorio’s, Kurapika’s, and Gon’s badges. They had been the last to enter the exam. “I had hoped a few would chicken out,” he said, voicing her thoughts aloud.

            Before any of them could respond, Ashei noticed that the pace quickened. The people in front of them were now power walking – nearing running. The sudden change struck her as odd.

            “Hey, what’s going on? Why’s everyone in such a rush?” Leorio glanced at the examinees near him, confused. He somehow had not noticed the change.

            “As I thought. The pace is quickening!” Kurapika observed, speaking in a louder voice than Ashei thought he could go. She had pegged him as the intelligent, quiet guy.

            “Yeah!” Gon pointed ahead of them. “The guys in front have started running!” Ashei raised her head so she could see in front of the people in front of her. They were indeed running.

            “I am Satotz, your examiner for the first phase of the exam,” Ashei could somehow hear him very clearly despite the fact she was somewhat far away from him. “As well as your guide to the second phase.”

            “Second? But what’s the first?” A dumb question sounded from the front. _Come on people_ , Ashei shook her head. They couldn’t be _that_ stupid.

            “ _This_. What else?” Satotz answered in a mocking voice. “I told you the exam had begun, did I not? You’re now taking it. All you have to do is keep up with me. Simple, no?” Ashei had a feeling it wasn’t that simple. “Where we’re going, and when we’ll get there, I can’t say. To find out I suggest you keep following!”

            “That’s it. Simple, indeed,” Kurapika stated from his position farthest away from Ashei.

            “Kinda weird, I think,” Gon said with a half frown.

            “Not really. It’s just a simple endurance test,” Leorio said matter-of-factly. “No problem there. I can keep up with anybody!”

            Having heard her thoughts echoed by Leorio, Ashei began to second doubt her initial thoughts. This was not just an endurance test. Or rather, not in a physical sense. The not knowing of where they were going or how long it will take to get there is more of psychological test. Only those with a high mental resilience could make it through this. This was better for her; it’s the more physical stuff she hates.

            After coming to her conclusion, she felt a sharp breeze and saw a silver-haired kid riding a skateboard go pass them. He wore a white shirt with dark colored shorts and seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world. Ashei suddenly wished she had brought something so practical with her, like he did. Was it against the rules to bring a bicycle?

            “A skateboard!? That’s cheating!” Leorio yelled out loudly. This caught the attention of the kid.

            He looked back, his blue eyes questioning. “How so?” The tone of his voice was full of genuine wonder. Ashei noticed the _#99_ on his chest with slight surprise. She had missed him come in.

            “How d’ya think that!? He told us it’s an _endurance test!_ ”

            “No, _you_ said that. _He_ only said to follow,” Gon pointed out. Ashei had to get it to the kid, he had guts. She probably wouldn’t have been able to bring herself to say that.

            “Hey, whose side are you on?” Leorio turned his anger towards Gon whom seemed unfazed by this. Ashei, who was running next to the future doctor, suddenly wished she had brought earplugs.

            “Yelling just wastes energy, Leorio, _and_ irrates me,” Kurapika warned. “Don’t forget, we could bring whatever we wanted to the exam!” Someone had obviously done his homework. Kurapika’s words seemed to only further enrage Leorio.

            Ashei turned her attention to the skateboard kid as he looked back towards them at Gon. He slowed his pace so he was a little ahead of him. “Hey, how old are you?” He asked him.

            “Oh, me? I’m 12!” Gon replied with a look of wonder.

            “Is that so? Me too.” The other kid seemed to think for a moment before he slowed down so he was right beside Gon. “Think I’ll run for a bit.” He did a cool flip off his skateboard, tucking it under his arm as he ran. Gon let out an impressed “ _Wow!_ ” from beside him.

            “I’m Killua,” he introduced himself. The name stuck with Ashei for some reason. She felt like she had heard it somewhere… _Killua_ …

            “I’m Gon!” Gon said with a small smile. He looked happy to see someone his age. She would be too had she been just a kid.

            “And who’re you, pops?” Killua asked Leorio with a funny expression on his face. Ashei stifled a laugh. This kid was fearless.

            “ _‘Pops!?’”_ Leorio exclaimed. “I’m no ‘pops’! I’m not even 20 yet!”

            “No way!” Gon and Killua shouted in unison as they stopped running from shock. Ashei was in their boat, she thought for sure he was older than she was, if only by a year. She barely noticed that she had stopped running momentarily as well and quickly got back to running when they did. She looked for Kurapika and saw him well ahead of the group. Lucky him…

            “Oh, how about you?” Killua asked. It took Ashei a second to realize he was talking to her this time. “Who’re you?”

            “…Ashei,” she answered after a moment of hesitation. “And I _am_ in fact 20 years old.” She added for the record. She didn’t need them thinking was older than she actually was.

            Silence followed. Or rather, Ashei chose not to listen as Gon and Killua chatted and instead tried to figure out how long they had been running. If she was correct, it had been about 3 hours. She wasn’t out of breath yet, which surprised her seeing as all the people around her (excluding Gon and Killua) were slowing down and out of breath. She needed to see the font of the pack.

            After informing Gon and Killua that she would be up front if they needed her, Ashei quickened her running pace slightly so she was ahead of most people. She passed by Kurapika, whom seemed content as usual. She waved out of politeness as she passed him by. Once she could see Satotz, she relaxed her pace a bit. She was not going to waste all her energy just so she could be at the very front. Her reasoning definitely was not influenced by the fact that she saw that Hisoka person a little in front of her and to the right. He looked like he wasn’t having any trouble either. She couldn’t help the sad sigh from escaping her lips.

            The stairs looming ahead of the group made Ashei think that the end was nearing. She kind of hoped it was – she was getting tired of running. Not that the running was particularly exhausting, it was just getting rather boring. The stairs would make or break her, she realized soon enough.

            Satotz looked over his shoulder at the examinees. “Now then, let’s pick up the pace a bit, shall we?” Ashei had never wanted to kill someone as badly as she did in that moment. Fast running up stairs was not fun. She also hated how it looked like Satotz hadn’t even moved faster – he just _was_. He had kept that same weird walk for all these hours and it looked like he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

            Soon enough, all around her people were dropping like flies. The stairs had proved too much for them and they collapsed on the staircase in a sweaty slump. She felt nothing for these failures; they were all weak. If they could not pass the first phase, then they had no hope of ever becoming a Hunter. Even she had at least made it to the second phase before.

            Ashei watched out of the corner of her eye as Gon and Killua advanced to the very front of the people so they were just behind Satotz. She admired their perseverance and determination. They made it look so easy. She envied them. Although she was only a few paces behind them, with the rest of the non-failures, she could not help but feel like two kids had beaten her. It was a silly thought; this wasn’t a race after all.

            “We’re ahead of everyone now.” She heard Gon say as he looked back at the rest.

            “Yeah, it’s the slow pace. Climbing slowly tires you faster,” Killua stated in a knowing tone. “Maybe the whole Hunter Exam is like this…tedious and boring.”

            Gon returned his attention to him. “So, why do you want to be a Hunter?”

            “That’s the thing, Gon – I don’t.” He seemed like he was telling the truth. “I’m just interested in the exam. I heard it was supposed to be really tough. So far, it’s not.” He glanced over at Gon. “How ‘bout you?”

            “My dad’s a Hunter and I want to be just like him.” Ashei smiled at his childish motivation. A son walking in the footsteps of his father, how adorable. Ashei tried to think of a happy memory with her own father and could only think of one – his death.

            “What’s he like?”

            “I don’t know!”

            A moment of silence passed between the two before Killua burst out laughing. “You’re _weird_ , Gon!”

            Ashei zoned out as Gon started talking again. She was remembering her own past. The death of her parents done by none other than herself. She remembered how once she turned 15 she started to plan her parent’s murder. When her fellow islanders had left her for dead when she was 10, her parents had done nothing to save her. Of course, that was because they were also a part of the beating of their own daughter – their sole child. But what was a child that did not want to fight on that island? They were nothing. Trash. Not worth their time. And so, with five years of rage and hatred burning throughout her body, Ashei had murdered her parents.

            “LOOK! The exit!” A yell broke Ashei out of her memories and could not have done so at a better time. Ashei turned into a different person when she relived those memories. She raised her left hand in front of her, examining the black band around her wrist. This exam had better be worth it.

            As Ashei and the rest of the mass reached the exit, she took her place beside Gon and Killua. Soon Kurapika and Leorio, both of which seemed to have stripped a little, joined them. Leorio had the upper part of his suit off, and Kurapika’s blue clothing was nowhere to be seen, leaving him in a simple white outfit.

            As people pondered their surroundings, Ashei could only stare at the swamp in front of them. Was this the second phase? Or was it still the first phase? She didn’t care as long as she did not have to go back into those damnable tunnels.

            “The Numere Wetlands, also known as Swindler’s Swamp,” Satotz announced, getting all attention back on him. “There are many crafty and voracious creatures unique to these wetlands. They’ll trick you in a blink, and eat you with relish. You must follow me and stay focused,” he warned in a serious tone. “It comprises the next leg of the first phase. Please note that if you are deceived, you are _dead_.”

            “Allow me to reiterate – the creatures here are wily and their tricks are endless and deadly. This is not on their whim, but the basis of their entire ecosystem. That is why it is called Swindler’s Swamp. Follow me closely and _stay focused_. If you don’t, you’re lost.”

            “Nice of him to warn us,” Leorio whispered, “Can’t trick someone who’s on the lookout for tricks!”

            “ _That’s a lie!_ ” A yell came from behind the group, to the left of the entrance back into the tunnels. “He’s lying!” Ashei watched as a man stumbled into view. He looked like hell. His clothes were torn and he was bleeding from many cuts. “He’s an imposter! He’s not the examiner!” He jabbed a thumb at his own chest. “I’m the _real_ examiner!”

            Only one thought ran through Ashei’s mind: _He’s lying_.

            “An imposter? Then who – or what – is he?” Leorio fixated his gaze on Satotz warily.

            “I’ll show you!” The man dragged something into view, making sure everyone could see it. “He’s one the creatures of the wetlands – the Man-Faced Ape!” Ashei got a good look at the creature he was holding. It had the face of Satotz the only difference there being the gaping mouth full of sharp teeth. Its body was covered in fur – clearly an ape. “They lust after human flesh, but are too weak of limb to capture prey on their own. So, they disguise themselves and lead a crowd of humans to the wetlands where, in cooperation with other creatures, they capture them alive!” He pointed a shaking finger at Satotz. “This time they’re out to sweep up the entire Hunter applicant pool!”

            Playing cards were suddenly in the man’s face, cutting right through his skin and bones. As blood trickled down his face, Ashei felt disappointed that she hadn’t actually seen the cards fly into his face. The man made a sickly noise before falling backwards, clearly dead. She looked back towards Satotz to see him holding four playing cards in his hands. Obviously, he had caught them as they were being thrown at him.

            A disturbing little chuckle sounded a little a ways from Ashei. “I see, I see…” It was none other than Hisoka the magician. So, _he_ had attacked with the cards. An interesting choice of weapon.

            The ape on the ground suddenly got up and started to jump away from the commotion. This time, Ashei followed the cards as Hisoka threw them with a graceful flick of his hand. The ape was hit in mid-air and fell to the ground dead. Amazing.

            “That settles it then,” Hisoka said with a little smile. He turned his yellow gaze to the examiner, “He’s the real thing.” Satotz responded by letting the cards fall to the ground, keeping his eyes on the magician. “Examiners are Hunters who do this without pay, at the request of the judging committee.” He took a moment to let his words sink in. “A simple Hunter, which we ourselves aspire to become, would have no trouble dodging such a simple attack.”

            “I shall take that as a compliment. However,” the purple haired examiner took a deadly serious tone to his voice. “the next attack on me, for any reason, will be grounds for immediate disqualification. Am I clear?”

            A halfhearted “Perfectly~” was the only response he was given.

            The sound of feathered wings flapping caused the examinees to turn their wavering focus back towards the dead fake examiner. Ugly looking bird started to eat his flesh, tearing large chunks of meat from his bones and making a pool of blood surround his body. Ashei forced herself to turn and look away.

            “As you can see, _losing_ isn’t a pretty sight,” Satotz sighed in a bored manner. Ashei could hear more birds arrive, and chose not to look. “It was a clever ruse to claim that I am the fake examiner in order to gain your trust and lead you right into their clutches. That’s the kind of life-or-death deception that makes the swamp the perilous and fascinating place it is. I’m sure many of you were swayed and started having doubts about me. Well, so much for that. The 311 of you may continue to the second phase.” With these last words, he started walking (running) again, heading into the swamp. The second half of the first phase was underway.


	4. In x The x Swamp

“Another damn marathon! And this time through mud!” Leorio complained from next to Ashei. She glanced over at him and wondered how he stuck his number badge to his bare chest. She didn’t remember it being adhesive.

            They continued running for a while until fog started to roll in, fast and heavy. Soon, Ashei could barely see the people in front of her and only the shape of Leorio and Kurapika on either side of her. This was bad. If she lost Satotz, she would surely fail. That thought, mixed with the feeling of bloodlust coming from somewhere close in front of her, made her start to doubt she could pass this phase.

            Out of the blue, Ashei heard Gon’s voice yelling to his friends. “Leorio! Kurapika! Ashei!” She felt a sense of comfort as she heard her name being included. “Killua says we should move up front!” She couldn’t see the two kids, but she had a feeling they were way ahead of them.

            “Idiot! If we could, we would!” Leorio called out in response.

            “…Try harder!”

            “Yeah, right!”

            Around her, Ashei noticed the fog getting even thicker. It was as if it was singling her out. Soon enough, she lost even Leorio and Kurapika. When she called their names, they did not answer. Either she had taken a wrong turn somewhere, or they had. Moreover, judging by the lack of the sound of shoes stomping through mud, she could only assume she was lost. She let out a depressed sigh, but forced herself to move on. Even if she ended up failing, she was not going to do so by being killed by nature. That’s a terrible way to die.

            After about 5 minutes of running, she heard a cry of pain and sighed in relief. At least someone was nearby. And by the sounds of it, it was Leorio. She ran in the direction she heard him from and determined it would take her a while to get there, even at her faster than normal pace. Too bad, she had always wanted to be a hero.

            The sounds of death were all around her. She hated how it seemed like she was going the right way, yet other times it seemed like she was only going towards more danger. Should she continue to head towards Leorio’s voice? Alternatively, should she forget about him in the chance he was heading the wrong way?

            Before she could truly decide, the stench of fresh blood came from ahead of her. Ashei slowed down to a walk as she crept closer to where it was coming from. She could see a small clearing, almost free of fog. Standing in it were Leorio and Kurapika, along with the devilish clown. Around the latter were quite a few dead bodies, all cut up in a horrific manner. The sight terrified her and caused her to freeze in her hiding place of some kind of blue bush. Damn her morbid curiosity. Ashei would not forgive herself if she got herself killed by the clown man.

            “Only you three are left,” Hisoka purred with a devilish grin. Leorio and Kurapika glanced around in confusion – as far as they knew they were the only ones left standing. Ashei held her breath. There was no way he knew she was there, in hiding. There must have been someone else around. Someone he noticed but she failed to. That was the only possible reason.

            Kurapika whispered something to Leorio. Ashei was too far away to hear what he said, but judging by the look on Leorio’s face, he agreed. She could only watch as Hisoka slowly walked towards the pair, a single bloodied card in hand. It was a frightening sight.

            As soon as Ashei remembered she needed to breathe in order to live, Kurapika and Leorio took off running in different directions. Apparently, they would rather take their chances with the swamp than with the magician.

            Hisoka smiled appreciatively, “A wise decision…” He looked in the direction they fled in for a moment before shaking his head dismissively. “I’ve still got one toy. No need to rush.” He turned his head towards Ashei and for one heart-stopping moment their eyes met. Terror ripped through her, and for good reason. He took one step towards her hiding place before a figure appeared from the fog.

            “I just can’t,” Leorio huffed, clearly exhausted from running. _That idiot_ , Ashei thought angrily, _you could have gotten away with your life_. It would have been at the cost of her own life, but that mattered not to her. “I can’t just run away!”

            Leorio ran towards Hisoka, a sturdy looking stick in hand, and let out a battle cry. He swung out at him, missing by a hair. His facial expression grew in frustration and determination as he tried to hit him again.

            “Hmm~” Hisoka cooed, his hum sounding like he was happy. “I adore that look.” He continued to dodge Leorio’s feeble attacks. Then, he was suddenly behind the future doctor, a wild look on his pale face. Ashei hadn’t seen him move. Hisoka was extremely fast, faster than she could keep up with. She started to feel slightly guilty as she watched as Hisoka reached out a hand towards Leorio unbeknownst to him.

            _Fwoosh…_

            The hidden Ashei nearly gasped as she saw Hisoka suddenly reel back after having been hit in the face by an object she had failed to see. As she turned her head to the direction it came from, she knew instantly that it had been a fishing lure. The fishing pole in Gon’s hand said enough.

            “ _Gon!?_ ” Leorio cried out in shock. He seemed too shocked to move from his current position, something Ashei could relate to. Gon let out short breaths as he gripped the fishing pole in his hands tighter. He looked calm, yet undoubtedly scared.

            “Not bad, little boy,” Hisoka remarked after recovering. He turned slightly and started walking towards Gon with an interested expression. “Is that a fishing rod? How original.” He extended a hand, palm up, as he got closer. “Can I see it? I’ll give it right back…”

            “Where the hell do you think you’re going? Your fight’s with me!” Leorio made the mistake of yelling as he readied another swing. In the fraction of a second it took Ashei to blink, Hisoka’s fist was already connecting with Leorio’s jaw sending him flying upwards and spinning slightly until he landed on the ground with a _thud_.

            At the attack of his friend, Gon burst into action. He started madly swinging his fishing pole, each strike Hisoka would avoid effortlessly as he closed the distance between them. In a flash, Hisoka had Gon by his neck and raised him up until Gon was slightly above him, way above the ground for the poor boy. Ashei felt hatred for herself rising within her. How could she just stand by and watch as the people that had taken her into their group get beat up? It was disgusting.

            “Did you come here to help your friend? Such a good boy~” Hisoka tightened his grip around Gon’s throat. Ashei could only tell by the obvious pain he was in. His hand tried to pry off the bigger hand around his throat to no avail. Gon’s face twisted in pain, a look that made Ashei’s heart hurt. “Oh, I _adore_ that look.” The sick clown gleefully tightened his grip once more at his own words. As expected, Gon soon dropped his arms and his expression relaxed as he found that he could not breathe anymore. Hisoka let out a small gasp of surprise and instantly dropped Gon. Ashei watched on as the boy gasped for air on the ground.

            Hisoka squatted so he was at eye-level with him. “Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him. He passed.” He gave him a disturbing smile as he leaned in closer to the kid’s face, “…Okay!” He drew back and smiled a smile that Ashei didn’t find creepy or disturbing. It was…rather nice. “You pass too. Go and become a good Hunter~”

            A _beep-beep-beep_ sounded from Hisoka’s pocket and he pulled out a walkie-talkie. “ _Hisoka, you should come back soon. I think we’re about to reach the second exam site._ ” The voice that came through sounded too distorted for it to be the fault of the device. Who had she seen so far that could have a voice like that…?

            “Oookay. Be there soon,” Hisoka responded and put the device back into his pocket. He stood up and started to walk towards where Leorio was. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Gon, “Can you make it back by yourself? Don’t worry about him; I’ll make sure he’s there.” Gon slowly nodded and backed up a bit before stumbling to his feet and taking off running in the direction Kurapika ran off in.

            “That just leaves you,” Hisoka smiled in Ashei’s direction. She knew then that she had no choice but to come out of the shadows. She took a deep breath before stepping into the slowly closing clearing. She stopped walking once she was in front of the magician. She forced herself to ignore her acquaintance on the ground and instead look into the yellow eyes that she was beginning to doubt were just contacts.

            “How did you know I was there?” Ashei asked in a monotone voice. She carefully observed every move he made – from the slight smile spread across his lips to the flick of his wrist as a card appeared in his hand.

            “I thought I told you that you weren’t ready yet.” He ignored her question and titled his head to the side slightly. “I would much rather avoid killing you.”

            Ashei narrowed her pale blue eyes, “Someone like you lives for killing. Why would you have spared me?” It was certainly suspicious. What could he gain by keeping her alive until she was stronger? It was as if he had _warned_ her before. A warning not to get herself killed.

            “It is much more pleasing when the fruit is ripened,” his voice seemed on the edge of pleasure and pain. “Right now, you stand no chance against me.” Ashei saw his hand move, but was too slow to react. In an instant, a card had imbedded itself in her upper left thigh. Blood started to seep through her wound, making her jeans appear black instead of blue. She started to reach towards the card to remove it, but before she could, a hand caught hers and held it tightly. She looked back up to find the magician right in her personal space – something she really hated. She also hated being this close to him.

            “Unhand me,” Ashei commanded in a deep, pain-filled voice. Hisoka merely smiled before retrieving his card. She inhaled sharply at the sudden removal of the card from her thigh. She tried to move her hand, but found that she couldn’t even budge it from the spot in the air. He had a tight grip, that’s for sure.

            “Your look of pain…it so _delectable_.” He licked his lips as he used his free hand to grab her chin and pull her face up towards his. “Has anyone ever told you that before~?” She turned away and closed her eyes. She couldn’t stand the way he was looking at her. Like she was something to eat, something for him to devour. Like she was the prey and he the hunter.

            “You’re sick…” she barely managed to whisper. Just being near him made her so afraid. It was as if all she learned up to this point fell away as soon as he captured her in his gaze.

            Hisoka chuckled before releasing her from his grasp, “I guess that settles it.” He waited for Ashei to return her attention to him. “You pass as well.” He seemed pleased about something – something Ashei could never hope to understand. She was still busy thinking when a sharp chop to the back of her neck knocked her out completely and she fell right into Hisoka’s arms. The magician threw her over his shoulder with a smile on his face. He grabbed the unconscious Leorio from the ground, throwing him over his other shoulder as he walked back into the fog, humming softly to himself.


	5. Start x the x Second x Phase

“Ashei! Leorio!” Ashei slowly woke up to the sound of Kurapika and Gon’s voices calling out her name. She opened her eyes and realized she was sitting on the ground, behind a large group of people. Her head was leaning on the awake Leorio’s shoulder that she had apparently been sleeping on as they both leaned against a tree. Hisoka must have brought them here. That was all Ashei could think of for an explanation. Of course, she did not remember being knocked out by him.

            “Oh, hey Gon, Kurapika,” Leorio greeted in a mellow tone. Ashei quickly shifted herself so she was not leaning against him. The contact made her uncomfortable.

            “You seem fine,” Kurapika observed. “I see you bandaged your arm.” His gaze fell to Ashei, and then to her thigh. “…You were hurt?” He asked, sounding almost concerned.

            “Oh, um…” Ashei could not come up with an excuse and silently thanked Leorio when he spoke up again.

            “Her thigh was cut pretty badly, so I decided to bandage her up.” Ashei examined her now bandaged wound on her thigh. Huh, he really had helped her out. “You’re welcome, by the way!” Leorio smiled as he side glanced at her, thankful that his facial injury was on the other side of his face.

            “Thank you, doctor,” Ashei smiled gratefully at him. This was perhaps the first real smile she had done so far.

            “Ah, it was nothing.” She could tell by his voice that he appreciated the thanks. He looked back at Gon and Kurapika, “But how did I get injured like this? Do you see my face!? What happened? I can’t seem to remember anything from after we entered the swamp.” Ashei nearly laughed at his poor memory. There was never a dull moment near him. However, she knew she could not reveal what had happened – it would only show her cowardice.

            Gon and Kurapika shared a glance, seemingly agreeing on something. She could probably guess correctly.

            Gon quickly changed the subject. “Why’s everyone standing out here?”

            “We can’t get in,” explained Killua as he joined up with Gon. Gon looked happy to see him and the two exchanged greetings. “I see you made it here. How’d you manage that?” he asked.

            “I followed Leorio’s cologne!” Gon told him as if it were nothing.

            _He just followed the smell?_ Ashei thought to herself as she and Leorio got to their feet. _This kid…he’s a strange one._

            “That’s…weird,” Killua said, his tone a mix of disbelief and amusement. “But whatever works, I guess.”

            “So, why can’t we get in?” Ashei asked, glancing up at the large door in front of the crowd. “What’s the hold up?”

            “There’s a sign.” Killua pointed to a sign above the door that Ashei hadn’t even noticed. “Says the second phase starts at noon.” He raised his finger to point a bit higher towards the clock on the building past the gates.

            Ashei took a step forward so she could see the clock. It was only a few minutes until noon. “It’ll be starting soon then,” she said to no one in particular. The anticipation was killing her. What would the second phase of the Hunter Exam be?

            The group got closer as another minute ticked by. Ashei had separated herself from Gon and his friends, but also kept her distance from Hisoka. She had a good view of the doors, so she would see as soon as they opened. As the final minute passed, she held her breath.

            The doors opened to reveal an incredibly large man behind a blue haired woman as she sat on some kind of chair. Suddenly Ashei could hear a thunderous sound – the sound of the man’s stomach growling. She briefly feared for a moment that he would eat the hopeful Hunters, but silently cursed herself for thinking so rudely.

            “So, you hungry?” The woman glanced up at her partner expectantly.

            “Hungry? I’m _famished_ ,” he responded, rubbing his large belly.

            “Okay, applicants! Listen up!” The woman addressed the crowd now. “The second phase is…cooking!” she announced in an authoritative voice. “We are Gourmet Hunters, so you’ll be preparing us some viands to satisfy our discriminating palates.”

            This was the first time Ashei had ever heard of Gourmet Hunters. She wondered what exactly they did. All Hunters must hunt something, so did they simply hunt for food? The use of the word ‘Gourmet’ seems to imply they only like high quality food, as does the woman’s line ‘satisfy our discriminating palates.’ If the second phase is to cook for these Gourmet Hunters, then she could only assume they want extremely delicious food. This might be a problem for Ashei whom had exactly zero cooking skill.

            A few people in the crowd yelled out an obviously shocked “ _Cooking!?_ ” at the news of the second phase’s theme. She couldn’t blame them; it’s not like she wanted to be a Gourmet Hunter after all.

            The examiners continued on. “First you’ll make a meal for me…” started the large man.

            “…and if Buhara passes your effort, you’ll be permitted to make one for _me_ ,” finished the woman. Her voice was cocky, as if serving her food would be like serving food for the Queen of some far-off land. “You’ll pass this phase if you can manage to satisfy us _both_. Once we’ve had our fill, the testing phase will be over.”

            _It had to be cooking_ , Ashei thought to herself, a small frown forming on her face. She’d never had to cook for herself before. Instead, she’d pickpocket some poor sap’s Jenny and find an eatery to quell her hunger.

            “My dish of choice is…a whole roast pig!” announced Buhara, looking excited for the future meals he would soon consume. “Any pig in this preserve will do.” His gaze rose above the crowd of applicants to the area behind them.

            “You heard him!” The woman gave them a knowing grin as she rose to her feet. She dramatically pointed out past them, saying, “Get cooking!” She didn’t need to tell them a second time.

            Ashei set off with the other examinees and headed into the forest. She saw Gon and his friends a little off to her left and decided she should probably keep her distance from them. They were a loud group and the last thing she needed when hunting a wild pig is a bunch of goofs making a huge racket.

            …Is what she thought a few minutes ago. She had wondered around looking for the pigs, but they seemed to be avoiding her. She had no idea exactly what kind of pig she was supposed to find, whether they were like the small livestock pig or more like a wild boar. Considering her surroundings, she could only assume they were more like boars. She hoped they would be easy prey.

            As she searched the forest for the pigs, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. She sat perched on a tree branch, trying to pinpoint where the uneasy feeling was coming from, but couldn’t lock-on to a location. The feeling was different than when Hisoka had been watching her; it was considerably less hostile. Who else would want to keep an eye on her? She let out a small sigh, deciding that trying to remember if anyone had given her a second glance would be too much effort.

            “Ashei!” Gon’s voice rang out, nearly causing Ashei to lose her balance from the unexpected sound. She glanced over her shoulder to see Gon running towards her. She mentally sighed, maneuvering herself so she could swing off the branch and land in front of Gon as he came to a sudden halt. “Ashei, we found the pigs, but-”

            Before Gon could finish speaking, a squealing sounded from behind them and they both looked to see two huge pigs rampaging towards them. She didn’t need to hear the rest of Gon’s explanation to figure out that the huge, large tusked pigs were their targets. She thought about scolding him for bringing angry-looking oversized pigs with him, but there were more important matters to attend to. The first was to run from said pigs.

            Ashei and Gon took off before the beasts could reach them, yet ran at a pace that allowed them to still be somewhat near them. She snuck a glance at Gon to see that he looked rather excited in light of their current situation. He seemed to be one of those people that lived for thrills.

            “How did you find me?” Ashei asked after a moment of running. What she really wanted to ask him was if he had been the one watching her, but as she thought more on it, it seemed out of character for him. Gon had never given any malicious warning signs before, and she couldn’t come up with a reason for him to suddenly become hostile towards her.

            “I’m really good at finding people,” Gon told her, staring straight ahead. His words were heavy, as if they held more meaning than what was on the surface. His expression was hopeful – a fierce kind of hopeful that gave off a sense that he was extremely determined to reach his goal.

            “ _Why_ did you find me?”

            “‘cause we’re friends,” Gon said in a _duh_ tone. “I wasn’t really planning to bring these guys with me-” he stuck his thumb over his shoulder at the pigs still chasing them, “-but I guess it saves us the trouble of hunting them down!”

            Ashei kept silent, not wanting to either deny or confirm his ‘friends’ line.

            They reached a hill that, once they crossed over it, would lead them back to somewhat near the actual exam site. Thankfully it wasn’t too steep, but even after they stood atop the hill, the pigs were still charging after them.

            She figured she could try to attack them using the height difference as an advantage. Long tree branches hung over and above the area providing her with multiple spots she could climb to and throw one of her daggers at one of the pigs, hopefully killing it in one shot. The plan would work – she was certain of that.

            However, Gon had a different idea. Without any warning, Gon suddenly swung out with his fishing rod towards the pigs as they reached the bottom of the hill. She thought he was trying to hit them with the lure perhaps, but instead his line got caught on a branch above. Gon reeled in, pulling the rod itself as he backed up slowly, tugging at the branch.

            With a _snap_ , the tree branch broke off and fell directly onto both of the pigs, hitting them on their heads. Ashei watched, completely surprised, as they collapsed to the ground simultaneously.

            “Yeah! It worked!” Gon let out a triumphant cheer and he slid back down the hill. “Come on, Ashei! Let’s take these back!” He motioned for her to join him at the bottom, a huge grin on his face.

            Ashei had no other choice but to do what he said. “How did you know that would work?” she asked him once she joined him. Did he just simply take a chance? What if his line had broken or the branch was too thick to break? Didn’t he ever think things through?

            “Their forehead is their weakness,” he explained, pointing to his own. “I knew that if I managed to hit ‘em with the branch they’d be knocked out instantly! I’m just glad I got the timing right…” He ended his sentence with an awkward little laugh.

            “Y-You mean you knew that all along!?” Ashei nearly exclaimed. “Why didn’t you just tell me? I could have done this alone.” Her voice came out snappier than she had meant, but it probably got the message through.

            “That word there,” Gon frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “‘Alone.’ That’s how it seems you want to be, but I don’t believe it! No one wants to be alone, not all the time. You proved that before the exam even started. _You_ joined us out of your own free will. All I did was give you a little push.”

            “You don’t know me, Gon,” Ashei said. “I _like_ being alone. I don’t need other people.” Her words were true, at least to some extent. She liked being alone because it meant there was no way people would be in danger if they got too close to her. If she became the reason for Gon’s misfortune…she wasn’t sure she could ever forgive herself. Besides, he was just a kid – what did he know?

            She thought Gon might get upset, leave, or some other negative reaction, but instead he just smiled. “You’re right. I don’t know you. But I _want_ to. So…won’t you give me that chance?”

            Gon was childish. His thoughts, his actions, his words – everything. She wondered if he had ever been out in the world. Had he seen death or betrayal? Had he known the feeling of heartbreak, or the want for revenge? Ashei was almost certain he had not. He was young and inexperienced in the real world.

            Knowing that…why did she want to stay near him? Their goals were not the same. They came from different places, different upbringings. They both experienced everything up to this point in a different way. And yet, for once in her life, she didn’t care. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to try and have a friendship, but perhaps not being entirely alone in the world might make it seem a bit brighter.


End file.
